//Vote by mail will be something of an issue this year.Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer will soon become the next president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections.The change could have a significant effect on how Florida conducts its November elections.With the novel coronavirus a looming threat to in-person voting, it may be necessary for the state to conduct its November elections mostly, or even entirely, by mail.Latimer has long been a supporter of vote-by-mail. In the 2020 March presidential primary, more than cast an absentee ballot.Hillsborough County...…//Vote by mail will be something of an issue this year.Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer will soon become the next president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections.The change could have a significant effect on how Florida conducts its November elections.With the novel coronavirus a looming threat to in-person voting, it may be necessary for the state to conduct its November elections mostly, or even entirely, by mail.Latimer has long been a supporter of vote-by-mail. In the 2020 March presidential primary, more than cast an absentee ballot.Hillsborough County...WW…

The ACLU has said it would sue to overturn the Trump rule.Washington — The Trump administration Friday finalized a regulation that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.The policy shift, long-sought by the president’s religious and socially conservative supporters, defines gender as a person’s biological sex. The Obama regulation defined gender as a person’s internal sense of being male, female, neither or a combination.LGBTQ groups say explicit protections are needed for people seeking sex-reassignment treatment, and even for...…The ACLU has said it would sue to overturn the Trump rule.Washington — The Trump administration Friday finalized a regulation that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.The policy shift, long-sought by the president’s religious and socially conservative supporters, defines gender as a person’s biological sex. The Obama regulation defined gender as a person’s internal sense of being male, female, neither or a combination.LGBTQ groups say explicit protections are needed for people seeking sex-reassignment treatment, and even for...WW…

/Community Convalescent Center reports that 56 residents and 17 staffers have tested positive for COVID-19.A Plant City nursing home is dealing with an outbreak of 73 coronavirus cases among staff and residents, the state is reporting.So far, 56 residents at the Community Convalescent Center, also known as Community Care Center, have tested positive for the virus and were transferred out of the facility, according to the latest figures released Tuesday morning. Seventeen staff members also tested positive.The medical condition of those 73 cases was not known early Tuesday. The state did not...…/Community Convalescent Center reports that 56 residents and 17 staffers have tested positive for COVID-19.A Plant City nursing home is dealing with an outbreak of 73 coronavirus cases among staff and residents, the state is reporting.So far, 56 residents at the Community Convalescent Center, also known as Community Care Center, have tested positive for the virus and were transferred out of the facility, according to the latest figures released Tuesday morning. Seventeen staff members also tested positive.The medical condition of those 73 cases was not known early Tuesday. The state did not...WW…

Dear Readers,The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread disruption to the lives of everyone in Tampa Bay and to so many businesses in our community. Here at the Tampa Bay Times, we continue to provide free, up-to-date information at as a public service. But we need your help. Please consider supporting us by or , and by sharing our work. Thank you./“Florida, we’re not in good shape,” said Rep. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate. “We have a leadership that took weeks to issue a shelter-in-place order after you and many other Democrats urged him to do so.Florida’s...…Dear Readers,The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread disruption to the lives of everyone in Tampa Bay and to so many businesses in our community. Here at the Tampa Bay Times, we continue to provide free, up-to-date information at as a public service. But we need your help. Please consider supporting us by or , and by sharing our work. Thank you./“Florida, we’re not in good shape,” said Rep. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate. “We have a leadership that took weeks to issue a shelter-in-place order after you and many other Democrats urged him to do so.Florida’s...WW…

//The press member was in the same room as President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis.BELLEAIR — A member of the press who covered President Donald Trump’s trip to the Tampa Bay area Friday has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the White House Correspondents’ Association.The association’s president, Zeke Miller, a reporter for the Associated Press, wrote in a message to the group’s members Sunday about the member’s positive test.“We’ve already reached out to those who were in the pools with this individual, and the White House Medical Unit is...…//The press member was in the same room as President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis.BELLEAIR — A member of the press who covered President Donald Trump’s trip to the Tampa Bay area Friday has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the White House Correspondents’ Association.The association’s president, Zeke Miller, a reporter for the Associated Press, wrote in a message to the group’s members Sunday about the member’s positive test.“We’ve already reached out to those who were in the pools with this individual, and the White House Medical Unit is...WW…

/A 27-year-old man from Polk County died Thursday from the coronavirus as the number of national, state and local cases continued to rise.Records were set Thursday — none of them good.The U.S. logged more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus. Florida saw the since the state first started reporting cases on March 1.And in the Tampa Bay region, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties saw the highest single-day number of coronavirus cases local officials have ever reported as the pandemic stretched into its fourth month.This week’s alarming spike renewed fears of a second wave of the novel...…/A 27-year-old man from Polk County died Thursday from the coronavirus as the number of national, state and local cases continued to rise.Records were set Thursday — none of them good.The U.S. logged more than 2 million cases of the coronavirus. Florida saw the since the state first started reporting cases on March 1.And in the Tampa Bay region, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties saw the highest single-day number of coronavirus cases local officials have ever reported as the pandemic stretched into its fourth month.This week’s alarming spike renewed fears of a second wave of the novel...WW…

/A reform bill would broaden the criteria for involuntarily holding someone for mental-health reasons. Civil rights advocates fear that would harm vulnerable people.The Baker Act is one of Florida’s most powerful laws — and, critics say, one of its most dysfunctional.The 50-year-old law allows someone to be held for mental health evaluation and potentially committed to a treatment facility, whether they agree to it or not.But the number of those held involuntarily keeps accelerating, and the fastest-growing age group forced to undergo exams are children.Now a bipartisan group of legislators...…/A reform bill would broaden the criteria for involuntarily holding someone for mental-health reasons. Civil rights advocates fear that would harm vulnerable people.The Baker Act is one of Florida’s most powerful laws — and, critics say, one of its most dysfunctional.The 50-year-old law allows someone to be held for mental health evaluation and potentially committed to a treatment facility, whether they agree to it or not.But the number of those held involuntarily keeps accelerating, and the fastest-growing age group forced to undergo exams are children.Now a bipartisan group of legislators...WW…

Two bridge inspectors helped retrieve victims after the Sunshine Skyway collapsed. Now they tell their story.This site no longer supports your current browser. Please use a modern and up-to-date browser version for the best experience. — — —…Two bridge inspectors helped retrieve victims after the Sunshine Skyway collapsed. Now they tell their story.This site no longer supports your current browser. Please use a modern and up-to-date browser version for the best experience. — — —WW…

/“State laws may have been violated,” at Citizens Property Insurance, the person apparently wrote. Citizens denies the allegations.TALLAHASSEE — A longtime employee for Florida’s state-run insurance carrier has accused board members of steering contracts to particular vendors and choosing whom the insurer hired.In a whistleblower complaint filed last year, the employee claimed that contracts were “fixed” by Citizens Property Insurance board members, who are appointed by elected officials, and that the insurer was awarding unusually large payouts and raises to top-level employees.“State laws...…/“State laws may have been violated,” at Citizens Property Insurance, the person apparently wrote. Citizens denies the allegations.TALLAHASSEE — A longtime employee for Florida’s state-run insurance carrier has accused board members of steering contracts to particular vendors and choosing whom the insurer hired.In a whistleblower complaint filed last year, the employee claimed that contracts were “fixed” by Citizens Property Insurance board members, who are appointed by elected officials, and that the insurer was awarding unusually large payouts and raises to top-level employees.“State laws...WW…